MORE than 200,000 people could die early from alcohol over the next 20 years, leading doctors have warned.

Experts including University of Liverpool’s Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians, predict there could be 210,000 avoidable deaths over the next two decades if current trends continue.

The figures, for England and Wales, suggest 70,000 of the deaths could be from liver disease and the rest from accidents, violence and chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and cancer.